321: John Feeney on gut strings, the 8 foot register, and the real history of the bass - a podcast by Jason Heath

It was such a pleasure to sit down and chat with John Feeney for this episode. As principal double bass of the American Classical Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, John has created an extraordinary career for himself. 

We cover all kinds of topics, like:

• how gut strings in a section coexist well with steel and plastic strings
• that intonation is one of John’s favorite things about period groups
• discovering how Boccherini’s bass-playing father actually didn’t tune in 4ths - it launched John on his journey into the world of period playing
• how the advent of the string quartet was kind of like the Beatles phenomenon for the 18th century
• how Dragonetti and baton conductors shaped the visibility of the bass
• how opening up the 8 foot register by not including a cello can make things so much more spacious

...and much more!

Links to check out:

• John's bio
• Back to Bassists: The Restoration of a Symphony (article by John)
• great video of John demonstrating gut strings (YouTube)
• John's YouTube page
• Haydn 6th Symphony  (great close-up of John!)
• Dragonetti Concerto in D (Modern World Premiere)

Thanks to our sponsor!

This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D’Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Helicore strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

 

Further episodes of Contrabass Conversations

Further podcasts by Jason Heath

Website of Jason Heath